by Jeanne Zornes
It’s almost enough to take your breath away: that crowded shelf of concoctions promising to improve your image, boost your love life, and cut down on dental cavities. Advertisers make great claims for their mouth-odor swishables. If only we could buy something to stop the foul words that daily come out of our mouths. No, not just cursing or swearing — though that’s a problem in itself — I mean those ordinary words used in negative ways. That problem begins about ten inches lower, in one’s heart. Proverbs 4:23 says the heart is the wellspring of life. From it can come good or evil. It can nurture words that heal and offer hope, or words that destroy. “Put away perversity from your mouth,” says Proverbs 4:24, “keep corrupt talk far from your lips.” Jesus expanded on that, saying we speak out of the overflow of our hearts (Matthew 12:34), and that the heart produces sins like false testimony and slander (Matthew 15:19). God offers a spiritual mouthwash. His Holy Spirit heads straight to the heart to help the words from our mouths honor Him.
“Speak evil of no man.” The great Methodist reformer John Wesley considered “evil-speaking” such a serious matter that he devoted a whole sermon to it. It’s still being read around the world. (See all 4,000-plus words of it online at http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/sermons/049.htm.) Wesley began with times when another Christian sins against you. The natural reaction is blabbing about your hurt to others. Instead, Wesley reminded his listeners of Jesus’ way (from Matthew 18:15-17): 1. Go alone. With a meek spirit, go privately to the offender. If it’s impossible for you to go personally, Wesley said it’s OK to send a messenger or a letter. But make sure it’s done with a spirit of humility and love. 2. Go with two or three. If the offender doesn’t acknowledge his wrong and ask forgiveness, take along two or three others as witnesses for a second visit. (That principle comes from Deuteronomy 19:15.) 3. Go to the church. If action #2 doesn’t work, take the problem to the local church. If there’s still no repentance, then treat the person like an unbeliever. Welcome him or her to church to hear biblical truth, but don’t pretend all is well. The problem is, most people don’t get to Step 1. They engage in evil-speaking, which is relating the faults of a third person who’s not present to answer for himself. It’s also called “backbiting” and “tale-bearing.” It’s wrong, even if one complains in a soft and quiet manner (“whispering”). “How extremely common is this sin, among all orders and degrees of men!” Wesley lamented. As someone once quipped, when you point your finger at somebody else, remember the remaining fingers on your hand are pointing back at you! Another problem is letting a matter slide. That only allows sin to fester. Failing to seek its remedy, Wesley said, is “a sin of omission.” There’s an exception to the rule, Wesley said. If the “sinner” is involved in a crime against property or life, go to governing authorities for the safety of others. In all other cases, he said, try hard to seek peaceful solutions. Go to the source, don’t blab, and remember: The world is watching. CLOSE MOUTH, ENGAGE Need help for an unruly tongue? Because what we think about affects what we say, the Apostle Paul counseled Christians to make a habit of thinking about what’s true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). By the way, the Greek word for “admirable” (“of good report” in the King James Version), is euphema, from which we get the English word “euphemism.” Consider condensing that list into an acronym that can be easily remembered when you’re tempted to say what you shouldn’t. Here’s one that spells “speak”: seemly (true and right) If you need a role model for these traits, consider Mrs. Proverbs 31: “She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue” (Proverbs 31:26). 
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